


another day getting into trouble

by tapeu



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Anxiety, Eventual Smut, M/M, Misunderstandings, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-09-11 10:29:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8976055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tapeu/pseuds/tapeu
Summary: Yuta is in love with not one, but two alphas.But of course, he's already faced with two big problems:1.) said alphas are head over heels for each other and2.) he's a beta. Right?





	1. Chapter 1

"Ugh, can't you guys wait until I'm out of the room?" Yuta groans when he sees Jaehyun and Taeyong all over each other on the couch.

"Aw, come on, Taeyong is so hot, who would be able to resist him?" Jaehyun smirks when Taeyong pinches his side and rolls them over, completely ignoring Yuta and continuing to prove who's the most dominant alpha around by using his tongue.

Yuta sighs as he pours the milk into his cereal. He's going to have class at eight, and it's already seven-thirty. He's going to be late, but first, he needs to pull Jaehyun and Taeyong off each other because they both need to go to the hospital soon.

"Hey, break it off! You guys need to go to work and earn money for me!" Yuta jokes and tries to pull Taeyong away, but as expected, his strength is nothing to the alpha. But the older gets up from the couch anyway, but before giving Jaehyun a last heated kiss.

"Yes, dear. I will definitely earn lots and lots of money for you so you can buy lots and lots of diamond rings that you like so much," Taeyong mocks as he leans over to Yuta's height and gives him a chaste kiss on his cheek, "now off you go. I know you have morning classes today, sorry for always having to keep a track on us," the older gives him another smile.

Yuta turns his head away quickly, trying to hide his blush. He doesn't know what to do with himself if the alphas realize it.

"And you're very welcome. But next time, can you guys do it somewhere else? I feel like I need to bleach my eyes every morning," Yuta complains as he puts on his shoes.

Jaehyun comes over to him and puts his arms around his shoulders, the heaviness of it almost making Yuta lose his balance but he holds himself together, because that's what betas do, right? They don't get affected by alphas and their smell.

"Are you sure you don't like it?" Jaehyun smiles his dimpled smile and blows air to his ear, making him shudder and pulls away from him forcefully.

"Of course not!" Yuta shrieks while holding his ear, "I'm going now! Do me a favor not to break another shower!" He yells as he opens the door and runs away.

 

  
\---

 

  
"The sixth attempt: failed miserably," Jaehyun sighs to his hands.

Taeyong looks at his boyfriend with sullen eyes. They've been going at this ridiculous plan for weeks now (when they have time in mornings). As embarrassing as it sounds, they're both trying to seduce Yuta so that he would give off his omega pheromones, according to Jaehyun.

"Maybe we should stop and just accept he's a beta and would never be able to gain a healthy relationship with us," Taeyong consoles him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

It's not wrong, for a beta to have a relationship with an alpha or even an omega, but they're not biologically designed to mate and mark. They also don't have a keen sense of smell. And they're not familiar with the concept of soul-bound. Taeyong thinks starting relationships with betas is just heading to heartbreak, with the betas feeling like they're being left out.

Yuta is a beta, but they both feel a strange connection to him. And Jaehyun keeps insisting that Yuta is an omega, which Taeyong finds hard to believe. They've been friends since Yuta was five and them ten, the five years old difference didn't stop them from playing together. And considering how they're all adults now (Yuta is in his fifth year of med school, making him twenty-three), Taeyong couldn't believe how Yuta managed to hide his gender from them. It's impossible.

And thinking about Yuta has been keeping secrets from him breaks his heart, so he would rather trust Yuta with all his heart.

Jaehyun is a different story, though.

"You don't understand. I've seen him scent our clothes before; there's no way a beta would do that!" Jaehyun says seriously, refusing to back down his argument.

"Yes, you told me that, but that's just one time, Jaehyun. And what if he's just trying to smell whether it's clean or not? After all, he's the one who's in charge of the laundry, am I right?" Taeyong speaks patiently with him, not wanting to agitate his boyfriend.

Jaehyun glares at him and Taeyong holds his gaze for a few moments before the former sighs and shakes his head.

"It's perfect, you know? If he's an omega. I love you, no lying at that, but imagine how having an omega will strengthen our bonds. Plus, we've known Yuta for years, he's already perfect," Jaehyun ruffles his head in frustration, and Taeyong hugs him while giving him kisses on top of his head.

He doesn't say anything, but Taeyong's sure Jaehyun knows that he feels the same way.

 

  
\---

 

  
Yuta writes down his note as fast as he could, trying not to remember this morning's incident. He almost got caught. Almost.

Jaehyun and Taeyong have been his anchor, supporting his life when his parents died in a car accident a few years back. Now Yuta thinks he's just being a burden living in their condo, not paying any bills and being fed by Taeyong's crazily healthy food every day.

The two alphas are head over heels for each other, and Yuta's a nuisance living around them like that. That's why he's going to study hard, graduate, and move out of their apartment, so they won't worry about him and continue living a nice life without him.

As much as it hurts Yuta just to think about it.

There's a paper being thrust into his side, and he curiously opens it.

_dinner after school at 7. you in or out? -hansol_

He looks behind him to find the alpha sitting casually with his arms crossed and he smiles fondly.

He scribbles down his answer in a torn paper, crumples it, and throws it to Hansol's head when the professor's not looking.

_in :)._

 

  
\---

 

  
Yuta knows that Jaehyun and Taeyong won't be coming home early today, so he took his time showering and getting ready.

He chose a simple oversized sweater and skinny black jeans, sprayed his perfume and scent masking spray all over his body and then waits for Hansol.

It's five minutes to seven and Yuta hears the doorbell. Yuta rolls his eyes. Always the punctual alpha.

"You've never heard of being fashionably late, haven't you?" Yuta teases him as soon as he opens the door to let Hansol come in.

"I'd like to think that being on-time is a gentlemanly act when courting someone," Hansol replies casually, but Yuta knows better.

"I told you that-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You're going to a date with an alpha you've been sleeping with. Completely casual," Hansol cuts him off and serves himself a cup of tea Yuta prepared for him a few moments ago. It's his favorite, oolong.

"If you're just going to be an ass about it, you can take your coat and leave," Yuta's not going to listen to this shit again. If Hansol's going back to be a bitter prick after Yuta rejected him, he's going to kick him out of the house. He's got better things to do.

"Relax, I'm just kidding. And God, it reeks of alphas in here," Hansol scrunches his nose in disgust.

It's only the second time that Hansol comes to the to naturally feel threatened when smelling another alpha's scent. And this time, two alphas. Yuta's scent is not recognizable, not with all of that scent masking spray he always wears.

Yuta has always been careful not to let Taeyong and Jaehyun know about Hansol. They've never met, but Hansol knows and hates them. Yuta always makes sure to clean everything that has been touched by Hansol to not to leave any lingering, unknown alpha scent around the apartment, just like what he's doing now.

"You better wear your coat, it's quite chilly outside," Hansol says as he observes Yuta washing the cups and the teapots, totally checking him out.

"And you better stop looking at my ass if you don't want your eyes poked out," Yuta counters back without looking back at him. Hansol laughs at that, "Don't act like you don't like it," he teases.

There's a comfortable silence around them, with Hansol playing with his phone and Yuta cleaning up the kitchen before they're ready to go for their completely casual date.

As casual as it can be.

 

  
\---

 

  
"Are you sure you have enough money to pay for this? Because I surely know I can't," Yuta comments as their car stops right in front of a fancy Italian restaurant. There's even a valet, what the fuck. Suddenly he feels completely underdressed.

"You should tell me that we're going to such a fancy place," Yuta whisper-shouts as Hansol takes his arm and forcefully makes him walk beside him, ignoring the stares of the upperclassmen and women staring at them, "and you didn't tell me you're fucking loaded!"

Hansol gives him a small smile as they continue to follow the waiter assigning them to their seat. "Well, you learned something new about me today, isn't it a good thing?"

The waiter points to a two seater table just around the corner. It's a cozy place; no annoying snobs can turn and stare at them this way. There's also a huge window right next to it, showing a beautiful garden twinkling with colorful lights, making the scenery even more captivating

The friendly waiter gives them a huge menu, which is all written in Italian cursive.

"Are you taking me here to mock me about my Latin test two weeks ago?" Yuta glares at a snickering Hansol.

"As much as I would love to see your angered face, no, I'm not. I just want to bring you to a nice place, because you look like you've never been to one." There it is. Another jab to Yuta's pathetic excuse of a romantic life.

Hansol knows everything about Jaehyun and Taeyong since he's the only one who's aware of Yuta's current predicament, while the two alphas remain blissfully unaware of Hansol's existence, thanks to Yuta's genius.

Yuta chooses to ignore him just to maintain the peaceful area surrounding them. He would never want to ruin a good dinner by slapping an alpha across his face, wouldn't he?

"What are the recommended dishes here?" He asks instead.

"Margherita and vongole pasta. But I tried the vegetable lasagna, and that's pretty good," Hansol smiles fondly when Yuta dry heaves at the mention of 'vegetable.'

"Uh, no thanks. I eat enough veggies, thank you very much. Just order me pasta with lots of meat inside of it," Yuta gives up trying to read the menu and lets Hansol do all the hard work.

Hansol snickers at Yuta's failed attempt to read the menu but calls the waiter nonetheless.

There's silence again when they wait for their meals to come, so Yuta decides to break the ice.

"What are your plans this holiday? You know, Christmas is coming soon, yay, jingle bells everywhere," Yuta says unenthusiastically. There's no reason to celebrate Christmas, not with his parents gone and his friends all busy.

"The usual. Going back to my grandmother's house, have a very festive Christmas dinner, watch Home Alone for the twenty-third time, and go back to Uni weighing twice as much," Hansol replies, playing with his glass of wine.

Yuta nods his head, not knowing how to respond anymore.

"You're not going to tell them the truth?"

Yuta snaps his head up at this.

"Tell them what truth?" Yuta answers back with another question, feigning innocence.

"You know very well what I'm talking about," Hansol is obviously judging him with his sharp eyes, but Yuta couldn't care less.

"Why do you even care?"

It seems like that tone of disobedience manages to cut Hansol's very thing string of patience; he slams his hands down to the table, making all heads turn towards them.

"Don't you dare play the why should I care part, you know very fucking well how I feel about you," he says through gritted teeth.

As if sensing Yuta's discomfort, he takes a deep breath and waves off the waiter who appears to check if there's something wrong.

"I don't plan on telling them anything anytime soon," Yuta gulps down his wine, liquid burning his throat as he's not used to alcoholic drinks.

"Sometimes you're so fucking stubborn. I don't understand why you've been lying. If they're as kind as you described them to be, there will be no harm done," Hansol lets the waitress fold the napkin across his lap as he serves his Margherita.

"Hm, you say it as if it's the easiest thing to do in the whole world," Yuta takes a bite of his pasta, "can we not talk about this? It's ruining my mood, and I desperately want to eat my food without wanting to throw it to your face."

Hansol looks like he wants to argue, but one look from Yuta and he shuts himself up.

And their serious conversation ends at that.

 

  
\---

 

  
"Are you sure you don't want me to take you upstairs?" Hansol says as they're nearing the condo's parking lot.

"For the sixth time, yes I'm sure, Ji Hansol. Thank you for being a gentleman, but it's late, and you should go home," Yuta unbuckles himself and rolls his eyes when Hansol moves to his side and opens the door for him.

"Ever the gentleman," Yuta comments as he flaps away Hansol's offered hand with a grin, "I have legs, thank you very much. Stop treating me like a blind lady."

"So," Hansol drawls, "see you next week, I guess?"

Yuta pouts, "Totally not looking forward to that. I'm so tired looking at your frog face," he cackles when Hansol makes a very offended face.

"Well, excuse me, but you have been having sex with this frog face-" Yuta cuts him off with a peck on his cheek, shutting him up for the nth time that day.

"Good night, Hansol. I enjoyed my free dinner. Maybe next time, try not to pry into my personal business?" Yuta runs away before Hansol can kiss him again and waves to him without looking back.

 

  
\---

 

  
It's already a little bit past twelve as he arrives at his front door. He's rummaging his small pouch for his keys when suddenly the door opens, making him jump in surprise.

It's Taeyong. And he doesn't look very happy.

Thinking it's just another problem back at the hospital, Yuta slips away past him, making use of his smaller size.

"Thank you for that. Where's Jaehyun?" He tries to lighten the mood as he leans down to take off his sneakers.

Taeyong remains silent, though, but Yuta can feel Taeyong's anger radiating. His hand trembles a little when he stands up straight and faces the older man. He clenches his fists together and put on a brave face, even though his heart is already thumping against his chest.

"Okay, Grumpypants, thanks a lot for your answer. If you don't have anything to say to me, I'm going back to my room to get myself a beauty sleep," he salutes him and turns away to run back to his room when there's a large hand placed around his bony wrist.

Yuta prays that Taeyong doesn't notice his shudder.

"Where have you been?" Taeyong growls and Yuta almost loses the strength on his knees because of the deep alpha voice, but he manages to pull himself together barely.

"Had a dinner with a friend, why does it matter?" Yuta shrugs.

"It matters if that friend is a fucking alpha! His smell is all over the bathroom!" Taeyong screams into his face and Yuta cringes in pain when his ears sting.

Looks like he had forgotten to check the bathroom before he went out.

Staring at the agitated alpha in front of him, Yuta wants so bad to give into him, but that's not how a beta should act.

He glares at the taller man with as much stubbornness he could muster.

"I don't remember when it starts to be a problem that I have an alpha friend. As a matter of fact, you don't get a say about what I should and shouldn't do because you're not my fucking alpha," he stands up to his toes, making direct eye contact with the fuming red eyes in front of him.

He's testing Taeyong's patience, he knows, but he's also not going to take the risk. He'd rather have Taeyong hate him forever than him finding out the truth.

Apparently, he's right for once as Taeyong grips his wrists tighter in one hand and slams his head towards the wall, making him wince in pain.

The tears in the corner of his eyes make Taeyong snap out of his angered daze as he pulls away like his hands burn.

Taeyong moves closer again; his mouth opened to say something, but Yuta doesn't give him a chance as he pushes him away with all of his strength and runs to the direction of his bedroom.

He slams the door and locks it, not even trying to contain his tears as he throws himself into his bed, wetting his pillow with his tears. He grabs a tissue to wipe his bleeding ears.

 

  
\---

 

  
"I'm home, sweethearts!" Jaehyun shouts from the doorway at almost dawn and doubles back when he sees Taeyong's slumped figure sitting on one of the chairs in the kitchen.

"Holy shit, I almost pissed myself," Jaehyun smiles jokingly but it immediately disappears when Taeyong doesn't even acknowledge him.

He rushes to Taeyong to take a seat beside him and pulls the other alpha closer when he realizes that Taeyong's crying.

"Hey, what happened? Did you watch another one of that dog movies?" Jaehyun attempts to lighten the mood and fails when Taeyong only cries harder into his shoulder.

"I fucking ruined it! I-I didn't know what came over me, I-I almost hit him, our Yuta! I'm such a terrible fucking friend-" His sentence is cut off by a harsh sob and Jaehyun pats his back comfortingly, Taeyong's words not making any sense to him.

"Deep breaths, babe, come on, deep breaths. I'm going to grab you something to drink, but you need to calm yourself down, okay?" Feeling Taeyong's nod, he gently pulls away from him and goes to make the both of them tea.

When he comes back, Taeyong is not crying anymore, but there's still tear tracks on his cheeks. Seeing the ever-so-reliable Taeyong like this breaks Jaehyun's heart.

He gives Taeyong the mug and waits patiently until the other is ready to talk.

"Johnny told me to come back home early today, since he thought I looked a little bit pale and lacking sleep, probably because I think too much about him," Taeyong smiles bitterly, and they both know who he's talking about, "and so I did."

"He wasn't home yet, which was a little bit unusual, but I didn't think too much of it. I thought he only went out to buy some groceries. I watched TV, probably drank too much beer. Then I went to the toilet, the guest's, not ours, 'cause it's closer," trust it to Taeyong to never leave the details.

"And voila, I smelled another alpha in there. I smelled it before on Yuta, but I thought it was only his classmates. But this alpha's scent was so dominant; it's almost as if he's going to mark the bathroom. I almost puked. And then the realization that Yuta has been hanging out with another alpha pissed me off so bad. The fact that he came home smelling like said alpha made me even more angrier."

"I wanted to ask him nicely about it, but he suddenly stated that I'm not his alpha, and then I just... snapped, I guess. He ran away to his room and locked himself in. He didn't answer even though I knocked for hours. So much about acknowledging him as a beta, I can't even accept that he has an alpha friend, for Christ's sake," he shakes his head in frustration.

Jaehyun needs to hold back his growl at the mention of 'another alpha.' Comforting his boyfriend is the priority here.

But he finds himself at a loss for words because he can't even tell Taeyong to let this matter go, he loves Yuta as much as Taeyong does, and the thought of Yuta being with another man makes him want to rip someone's head off.

So he just pulls Taeyong into a hug, resting his head under the other alpha's chin, hoping that his familiar scent will comfort him.

He hopes that tomorrow everything will come back to normal between the three of them.

But not all wishes come true.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They need to talk, but someone is desperately not willing to. So Hansol decides to take action.

That short text haunts Taeyong's mind as he scrolls through his patient's files. Thankfully Johnny was there for him to back him up back in the surgical room, and he berates himself for not being a professional doctor.

Taeyong woke up extra early just to talk and apologize to Yuta, but he found Yuta's bed already vacant, and his bed neatly made. Yuta never makes his bed.

With anxiety, he searched the large apartment, but Yuta was nowhere to be found. It's weekend, Yuta usually never wakes up before 11 a.m, but there's no sign of him anywhere.

He discovered a small note posted along with Taeyong's list of groceries on the fridge.

_going out to a friend's. won't be coming home early, don't wait up._

Fighting the urge to cry, he apologized to Jaehyun for messing things up, but his boyfriend scolded him by smacking the back of his head. He also called him stupid.

Maybe he truly is.

Taeyong tries to text and call Yuta several times, but it seems like his beta friend has turned off his phone.

"You should give him some space. Imagine yourself in his place; I don't think he's ready to talk to you after that caveman shit you pulled off," Johnny had said after Taeyong told him the full story.

Johnny never beats around the bush, but the truth that Taeyong severely crossed the line last night still stings him.

He should drink gasoline and light himself on fire for even trying to hurt his precious Yuta. Taeyong had refused Johnny's order to go back home early again today; he would not let his patients down just because he couldn't control his childish emotions.

He just hopes that Yuta is safe, wherever he is right now. Taeyong doesn't know what to do with himself if Yuta got hurt.

 

 

\---

 

 

There's a knock, and Yuta mutters a small 'come in' as the door opens, revealing a tired-looking Hansol.

The taller man gives him a mug of hot chocolate, which Yuta gladly accepts with a small smile.

There are no words to describe how grateful he is to the young alpha. He couldn't shut his eyes after his argument with Taeyong; his body desperately asked him to get the hell out of that place.

And so he did.

Unfortunately for him, he has no license and no family members to spend the night with, so he had no choice but to call Hansol. There's also Ten, but Ten is Johnny's mate. As much as he trusts Ten with all his heart, Hansol knows him better, and if Johnny finds out, he's going to tell Taeyong about it. Johnny has always been on Taeyong's side whenever they fight. Yuta doesn't blame him.

Hansol picked him up at that ungodly hour, answering the call on the first ring. He also insisted that Yuta sleeps in his bedroom rather than the couch. His room smelled so alpha-ish that Yuta wanted to melt inside the covers.

"Finally calmed yourself down?" Hansol asks as Yuta moves away to give space for Hansol to slip on the bed next to him.

Yuta puts his head on the alpha's chest, his heartbeat steady and calming. As much as he hates to admit it, he can be himself around Hansol. There's no masks, no pretending to be someone Yuta is not.

He sighs contentedly, nodding his head as he takes a deep breath of Hansol's scent. It reminds him of the ocean.

Hansol moves himself to get into a more comfortable position, so they ended up leaning against each other, Hansol's longer arms circle his waist in a protective way.

"You really should tell them the truth," Hansol finally addresses the elephant in the room.

Yuta groans. Not this again.

"I already told you that it's none of your business-"

"You made it my business when you made me fall in love with you," Hansol cuts him off with a sharp tone, not being able to hide his emotions.

Yuta flinches when Hansol's hold gets tighter.

"You don't know how it feels like. Helping you spend your heat, and you with my rut. Nobody in this bloody fucking world knows that you're an omega," Yuta flinches again hearing the word, but Hansol ignores him, "only me. And you didn't even plan to tell me that time. You just suddenly got into heat. I almost mated you that day." Hansol's eyes are unreadable, but his voice is cracking every time he continues. It makes Yuta want to cry too.

"It has been three years, Yuta. Three long years. I cannot move on without you being happy. I love you too much to see you cry," Hansol says with resignation laced into his words. His hold on Yuta never falters.

The _sorry_ is on the tip of his tongue, but he doesn't know why he couldn't bring himself to say it. Maybe because he said it too many times to Hansol before for it to mean something.

He tried to love Hansol as a lover, but he just can't. He wants to let Hansol go, let him mate with someone who deserves him, not a fucked up person like Yuta. Hansol always refuses every time he suggests that.

 _I'm not going anywhere_ , he would say. Or, _Who's going to take care of you in your_ heat?

Maybe they're both masochists. Staying together with people that would never love them back.

Holding back his tears, Yuta buries his face into Hansol's hard chest.

He knows, he knows that ultimately, he has to tell Jaehyun and Taeyong the truth. But Yuta is not ready for the disappointment and anger that will be reflected from their eyes when he does. He's not ready for the rejection that he has to face.

He'd rather stay away from them slowly but surely, making more and more space between them as days go by, even though his heart screams at him not to do so. Yuta has always been a burden for them after all; he needs to be mature and realistic, for Jaehyun and Taeyong to be happy with each other. The two of them, without Yuta in the picture.

There are no words exchanged between the pair, and Yuta falls into a dreamless sleep in Hansol's arms, the alpha's hold not faltering even once.

 

 

\---

 

 

Johnny is having his very late lunch when his phone rings. When he sees the name of the caller, he gulps and ignores it, choosing to gulp down his organic juice instead.

It's another three calls before a message comes in.

if u don't answer ur damn phone right this second, ur fucking sleeping on the couch for two weeks.

He immediately presses the answer button when his phone rings for the fourth time. He and his mate have passed the sex everyday part after two years (even though they still have amazing intercourse now and then) because of their busy schedules. Johnny is more interested in the health of his back from sleeping on the couch; Jaehyun keeps telling him he has some signs of osteoporosis.

"Hey, babe," Johnny drawls cheerfully, the scary attending physician persona completely melts off of his face as he fakes a smile, "what's up?"

He immediately withdraws from the phone, giving it one-arm length from his ear when his mate screams at the other end.

"Don't you dare _what's up_ me. My best friend went missing, and you have the nerve not to tell me?!" Johnny keeps cringing as the volume of Ten's already loud voice getting higher and higher, "I need to found out from Sicheng! And he's a fucking child!" Johnny takes a note to bully that eavesdropping intern later on.

"Baby, _baby_ , calm down. This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you. You'll panic and jump to conclusions," he immediately changes his words as he hears Ten takes a deep breath in anger, "but I'll also admit that I'm wrong! I'm sorry! I won't ever repeat it ever again!" He is totally at the mercy of his mate. Call him a coward, but Ten can be scarily protective of his friends. Especially Nakamoto Yuta.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see Sicheng immediately turning into his back once he spots him. One of these days, Johnny is going to teach him a lesson.

Ten stays silent for a while, and Johnny happily thinks he's off the hook, but happiness doesn't always come easy as Ten growls to the phone, "I need to go back to work right now. But you know what you're going to do?"

Johnny answers with a meek _no_.

"You're going to keep me updated and tell me news about him. I will know when you don't; I have a lot of ears and eyes in there," Johnny is suddenly very aware of his surroundings, "if you don't do it, then consider your knot gone. Okay? Okay."

Johnny gulps but agrees. He lets out a relieved breath when Ten hangs up.

Married life is scary.

 

 

\---

 

 

Jaehyun growls in frustration as his call gets into another voicemail. This morning when Taeyong told him about Yuta's short note, he couldn't even find the words the words to comfort his boyfriend.

A minuscule part of him that he wants to squish down blames Taeyong. He feels guilty for accusing Taeyong; he knows he's not any better at controlling his emotions. Hell, if Yuta had said those words to him, he would probably tear the walls apart with his nails.

He tries to call Yuta on more time before his break ends and almost trips over himself when the call gets through.

There's a click on the other hand, but the voice that greets him is not of Yuta's.

"What the- Who the hell is this? Why do you have Yuta's phone-"

"Man, calm your tits, you're annoying me with your ridiculous jabbers," the deep voice answers coolly from the other end of the line, "Yuta's sleeping. And before you scream again, no, I didn't fuck him. At least not today."

Jaehyun can feel his face almost bursting from anger, but he knows he needs to hold himself back if he wants Yuta to come back.

"Anyway, you need to get off work early today." The stranger asks again.

Jaehyun is amazed at the nerve of this guy. "Wha- Look here, I don't even know who you are and so far that I am aware you're a threat, what makes you think that I would listen to your words?" Jaehyun remarks and the voice snickers.

"You guys are disgustingly alike in so many ways. Well, not my loss if you don't want to. Yuta wants to get his clothes before you brutes come home. I guess you are not worried about him, huh?" The stranger mocks.

"W-Wait, back up. What do you mean Yuta will get his clothes? Is he not coming back home?" Jaehyun's hands are getting sweaty, and he perceives that he won't like the answer.

"Hm, I don't know if you call _that_ his home. Why would he want to live with an abusive alpha and his boyfriend? If I were him, I would rather drown myself in my blood than to stay with you," the tone goes dangerously low, and Jaehyun realizes he's the alpha.

"You take that back right this instant, my boyfriend is not abusive!"

"Yeah? Then what about the bruises I see on Yuta's wrists, hm? Are you going to tell me that that is an accident? If you do, I'm not going to buy it."

Jaehyun clenches his fist in anger, but he does not have any words to counter that argument. He knows Taeyong is not abusive, but the alpha was too consumed with his anger that he reacted with his alpha instincts.

There's a deafening silence, and either of them is hanging up. Jaehyun has never seen this alpha's face before, but he feels threatened.

Then he hears a sigh.

"This is getting nowhere. You see here; I don't give a fuck about you two people, about how you feel and want. My only concern is Yuta. And I know he's also suffering from being away from you, but he's a stubborn brat. So I want to take matters into my hands."

"You three are going to talk. And this time, it will be civil, because if it's not, I'm going to find out and I'm not going to let you off my hook. If you hurt him again, I swear to God, I will make you wish that you're not born."

 

 

\---

 

 

Taeyong almost screams out in glee when he reads Jaehyun's text. Yuta's coming back.

It has been only twenty-two hours and six minutes since Taeyong last saw his Yuta's face, but it feels like years, with time passing so slow.

Thank God that there are no patients in the E.R. and the hospital is relatively running slow today. That way, he and Jaehyun can both go home early.

Taeyong swears to himself that he would accept Yuta as he truly is, a beta, and stop his day-dreaming once and for all. He's not going to let himself ruin their friendship by succumbing to his personal needs.

 

 

\---

 

 

"Wait here; I'm going to be back in a flash," Yuta says as he unbuckles himself.

"You know, you can always use my shirt, I don't mind. After all, it's a big turn-on," Hansol jokingly places his large hand on Yuta's thigh, which is immediately slapped away with a glare.

Hansol holds up his hands in surrender and makes a zipping motion to his lips.

Yuta rolls his eyes before he gets out of the car and into the building. Maybe he should take Hansol's offer to wear his clothes. He likes his clothes big; it's more comfortable than the tight ones.

The elevator dings that annoying sound as he goes inside. Yuta's grateful that there's no one inside the lift. He is not in the mood to make any more fake smiles today.

To be honest, Yuta doesn't really need his clothes; he can buy it himself. But Mr. Sunshine, his favorite teddy bear, is still in his room and he cannot sleep well without it. It was a gift from Taeyong and Jaehyun when he had his seventh birthday. There's no way he would tell Hansol that, would he?

He's already on the fourth floor when the elevator suddenly lurches beneath his feet, almost sending him tumbling off his balance, and the lights went off.

He frowns, what the fuck just happened. He tries pushing all of the buttons, including the alarm, but the elevator won't even budge.

Yuta feels dread filling his senses as he realizes what happened. He's fucking stuck.

He tries kicking the door to open but hurts his foot instead. Yuta glares at the beautiful decorations of the ceiling; he could not possibly climb that high. Even if he does, he can't budge the doors open using his strength.

With trembling hands, he dials Hansol's number and hopes that it can get through.

It does.

 

 

\---

 

 

"Hello? What's wrong?" Hansol sits back up on his reclined seat when he hears Yuta takes a shaky breath.

"I-I-I'm stuck on t-the lift," comes the little reply.

"What?" In a flash, Hansol is out of his car and running.

"What floor are you on?" Hansol asks as he continues to press the elevator button, hoping it will turn red, but to no avail.

"S-Somewhere between f-fourth a-and f-fifth floor," Yuta sounds like he's on the verge of crying and Hansol wants to cry himself.

"Okay, you need to stay calm, I will go get some help," the alpha opts to take the stairs and goes straight to the fifth floor, "everything is going to be okay, just listen to my voice, do you hear me?" He consoles but he doesn't hear Yuta's answer as the line becomes static.

"Hello? Hello?! Shit, fuck, goddammit!" He tries to call Yuta one more time, but the call doesn't get through.

He repeatedly presses the bell when he arrives at Yuta's apartment, and pulls the person behind the door when his face comes into view.

 

 

\---

 

 

Yuta curls himself into a ball in the corner, tears streaming down his face as he tries to calm down his racing heart. He's not going to hyperventilate here; it's going to make the situation worse. It has been almost thirty minutes when his call got cut off, but he trusts Hansol; the alpha will come back for him.

But it's not Hansol's echoed voice he hears; screaming his name, it's Jaehyun's.

He stands up and screams out an answer, but he's lost his voice amidst his panic. Instead, he kicks the door again with all his strength, intending to make a sound for Jaehyun to notice.

Yuta hears some people arguing and footsteps running around, and he feels the car pulled upwards. He puts his hand on the wall, trying to balance himself.

 

 

\---

 

 

The firefighters wrench the outer doors of the elevator open, but the locking system of the inner doors is trickier than they think. It doesn't open very well, but they manage to create space enough for someone to fit through to help Yuta climb out.

He's the only one who's allowed to come with the firefighters. Taeyong, who was so agitated that he punched an officer for standing in his way, was forced to stay outside the police line. The other alpha, Hansol, looked way too pale to be of any help.

Jaehyun swears that he's going to make the apartment management pay for this, they're going to look for another place.

But just when Yuta's smaller frame is out of the tiny space, the elevator's lights suddenly turn on again as the metal squeaks, and Jaehyun could only watch in horror as it shakes, making the firefighter lose his grip on Yuta's body.

The sickening crack of bones meeting hard metal will always haunt him.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written a fic as plotty as this one, this is my first time to please be easy on me :)  
> but still, please enjoy :)


	3. Chapter 3

Taeyong can hear his heart beating through his ears as he sits in one of the plastic chairs in the hospital. Jaehyun's pacing around them, a habit he always does when he's stressed, and it didn't get better by the time he's a doctor. And looking at the situation they're faced right now; Taeyong couldn't blame him.

He's kind of relieved, ironically, that Hansol is sitting on a seat across of Taeyong because he doesn't trust himself not to hit the other alpha. His hands are cold as ice, and that's saying something because alphas have high body temperature, a trait that doesn't exist in betas and omegas. The blinking red sign of the Emergency Room makes him lightheaded, even though he sees those signs every day in his field of work.

He and Jaehyun insisted that they help with the surgery, but obviously, the doctor-in-charge didn't let them, saying that _it's_ _strongly prohibited for any family members or close friends to operate on a patient, as capable as they are_. Jaehyun was about to prove what really is prohibited in a hospital by punching, but thankfully Taeyong managed to knock some sense into him, and the other alpha calmed down a little.

Taeyong hears the door suddenly being slammed open and it's not from the operating theater. Ten comes barging in looking as disheveled as possible, his hair looking like it's been ruffled and pulled so many times. His wild eyes scan everyone in the room, and Taeyong feels his blood run cold when his gaze stops at him. He stands up on his wobbly feet that feel lifeless from minutes of sitting without changing his position and wipes his hands on his dark jeans.

Ten stomps his way to him with something unreadable in his eyes, and Taeyong can see the slap coming. What he doesn't expect is the omega's warm body slamming into him and embracing him right after that. Ten holds him close for a few moments more before letting him go and going over to Jaehyun to do the same thing. Ten doesn't slap Hansol, doesn't give him a hug either. Instead, he pushes his hand forward to offer the alpha a handshake, which the alpha immediately obliges.

After a brief small talk, Ten goes back to sit beside Taeyong on the plastic chair. It's hard to admit this without him sounding like a complete and utter asshole, but Taeyong appreciates it when Ten doesn't open his mouth to start a conversation with him. If it is not obvious enough, he's clearly not in any mood to indulge in Ten's chatter.

Seconds pass by, and it becomes minutes and hours, but Taeyong is still not moving an inch away from his seat. There's nothing inside his head now, just a dark, glaring black hole. It's like he lost his ability to think straight. And looking at the others' faces in the room, Taeyong can tell they're feeling the same thing.

Taeyong watches in confusion as the red light that signals the operation is still in progress blinks red as the female doctor comes out. She's trying her best her anxiousness, but years of experience make it hard for Taeyong not to notice.

"The patient's condition was stable," Taeyong flinches when he detects the past tense in her sentence, "until we have him a drug to bring down his fever. We believe he's been consuming some other drug on a daily basis, most possibly a suppressant, which triggers an allergic rection. If any of you know what he takes, please tell me because he's having seizures."

Taeyong can hear Jaehyun scoff beside him, "What? That's impossible, Yuta is a beta. He's not taking any suppressants. It might just be _you_  that's not capable enough to diagnose a patient," he mocks, and Taeyong would scold him for being rude if he's not also unconvinced by the doctor's claims.

She remains professional despite Jaehyun's jab, and turns to face Hansol who's looking everywhere but at their direction.

"Sir, if you know something please tell me. If his fever keeps going up and I can't stop his seizures, I can't guarantee that he's going to make it out of the operating room alive."

At her words, Hansol immediately looks up and talks in such a hurry, "He's taking suppressants, I don't remember the name, but it starts with an _m_. It's red, but he never actually show it to me, so I can't give you the details either, I'm sorry." Hansol looks so devastated sharing this fact, and Taeyong would feel bad for him if not for the fact that he's also so fucking confused.

Yuta. His Yuta. An omega?

The doctor widens her eyes and rushes back to the operating theater without any more words, and Taeyong turns to Hansol to shout at him before Jaehyun beats him into it.

He grips Hansol's shoulders tightly in his fists and grits his teeth while trying to control his anger, "You're going to explain to us right now if you still want your teeth to be attached to your gums," he says quietly, but the quivering in his voice betrays his chilling expression. Taeyong can tell that his boyfriend is scared of Hansol's answer, and so does he.

Hansol scoffs and pushed Jaehyun's large hands off him forcefully. "I don't owe you ignorant bastards any explanations. If you want answers, why not ask the best friend and not the fuck-buddy?" At that, Taeyong whips his head around so quick that he hears a sickening crack to it, but he's just, so numb.

Ten is watching them arguing with his arms crossed, his expression cold and steady. The omega doesn't even move back from his position when Taeyong marches to him, disappointment and anger etched on his face.

"You knew he's an omega and never told us?! After all this time," Taeyong huffs a deep breath because he finds it arduous to let some oxygen enter his lungs, not even with the help of the blasting air conditioners in the room, " _after all this time_ , you watched Jaehyun and I pine over an omega that we thought was a beta! You had no plans to tell us beforehand, don't you?"

"Nope, none at all," Ten doesn't gaze away from his eyes as he speaks, and Taeyong would stop to admire his guts if he's not controlling himself from punching the omega. The only thing that's holding him back is the fact that Ten is Johnny's mate and he's still sane enough not to destroy his relationship with his best friend.

Ten steps closer to him until the omega is looking up at him and he feels Jaehyun's hand reaching out to hold his from behind. Ten takes a deep breath before saying as evenly as possible, "No, I don't have any intention to tell you guys. I had convinced him just to come out as an omega, but he never listened. He always looks troubled when I ask why, so I never pushed him. But at least he didn't tell me too, I had to find it out myself, like you guys here," Ten smiles bitterly, "but also unlike you, I can notice the omega in him, how he bitches out at you when you preach but eventually listens to what you say. How he attended a cooking class just because he wants to cook for you. How he subscribes to freaking _Good Housekeeping_  so that he can be a better living companion for you," Ten's expression darkens, and Taeyong can feel Jaehyun's grip on his hand getting tighter.

"But you two just never notice, not even when he magically disappears every three months to handle his heat," Taeyong opens his mouth to reply, but Ten cuts him off with a small hand, "no, stop, I'm not done. You guys probably think that you've been taking care of him by giving him a house to live in, money to spend, and a bed to sleep on. But all this time, _he's_  the one who's been taking care of you. But probably your ego is as big as your fucking dick, so your brain just refuses to admit that, am I right?" Ten turns away from them, arms still crossed, and chooses the seat farthest away from where they're standing.

Taeyong can feel Hansol glaring at him when he takes his former place. Jaehyun's hand appears wet and clammy on his. He doesn't know who's sweating more, but he's pretty sure it's him.

He feels sick inside his stomach when he detects the relief in his system when Ten confirmed Yuta's an omega. A sick part of him is relieved that Yuta's an omega so Taeyong can mate him without care even though Yuta's inside there, sick and fighting on his own for a life that should've been his and Jaehyun's responsibility morally. 

Looking back at it, Taeyong realizes how stupid and childish they were behaving, trying to seduce Yuta into sleeping with them, just to have the exact opposite outcome of what they wanted.

Taeyong realizes that he's not as surprised as he should be. It's like when he has a middle-aged friend but never has a girlfriend and never joins when they went to a bar to hook up with some girl and when someone told him said friend's gay Taeyong is surprised but he can see it coming. It's like when you forget how to breathe even though it's instinct. He is feeling a deep urge to hurt himself when he remembers how he always brushed off Jaehyun's remarks that Yuta is an omega, too naive not to think about other possibilities. 

 _You also knew_. A voice in the back of his head says. _But you don't want to admit it._

His head feels too heavy for his neck, and he turns to Jaehyun to lean on him. He doesn't notice that he's crying, not until he sees the wet stains on Jaehyun's navy blue jacket. Taeyong wishes it's his blood instead.

"I s-should've listened to you," he hiccups into Jaehyun's shoulder, not caring that the other nurses are looking at them in amusement. The great Lee Taeyong, who never sheds a tear even when one of his youngest patients die, sobbing a lot of tears just because he just found out that his childhood best friend is an omega and has been continuing to disappoint said omega. How he wishes it's him instead of Yuta in that hospital bed. He deserves all of it.

Jaehyun doesn't answer him, but his hand on Taeyong's back is enough to signal that he's not angry, no, not at Taeyong. It just makes him cry harder.

 

  
\---

 

  
_Jaehyun looks at Taeyong, unimpressed, as the latter continues to avoid his gaze and plays with Yuta instead._

_"You ran away from home, didn't you?" Jaehyun opens his mouth to ask; judgment latched into his tone._

_"Of course not, why would you think that?" Yuta giggles when Taeyong bops his nose with his._

_"Yeah right, it's almost nine, and you wouldn't get out of your house in this darkness 'cause you're a coward unless someone made you angry."_

_Taeyong places Yuta on his lap so he can give Jaehyun a very scary look without the six-year-old looking at him. Yuta is small for his age, so he feels weightless on him._

_"Stop using the word coward just because we learned it from school today. And if I did, it's not your business." Taeyong puts his hands under Yuta's arms and carries him up as the latter cries joyfully, "Jaehyun is a busy-body, isn't he, Yukkeuri? Say it, B-U-S-Y-B-O-D-Y."_

_"Bicchy body!"_

_Taeyong laughs and cuddles Yuta in his arms before mouthing to Jaehyun, "He just called you a bitch," and continues to cackle. Jaehyun goes over to where they're sitting and pulls Yuta away from Taeyong._

_"I'm serious. You better come home now, your parents will be worried."_

_Taeyong flinches at that, and he sighs in annoyance while ruffling his short dark hair._

_"As I said, it's none of your business," he says coolly while reaching out to grab Yuta out of Jaehyun's hands, which the other boy slaps away. Taeyong groans, "And it's so unfair that you get to have a sleepover with Yukkeuri while I'm stuck dealing with my mom!" Taeyong slaps his hand to his mouth in realization as Jaehyun smirks knowingly._

_Jaehyun's expression turns mocking as he makes kissy faces at Taeyong's direction, "Aw, is our dear little cutie Taeyongie having problems with his mommy? Come on, you can tell us, we promise we won't tell anybody, won't we Yukkeuri?" Jaehyun talks like he's speaking to a baby and Taeyong is this close to throwing a pillow to Jaehyun's head, but he remembers Yuta's still sitting in his lap._

_"Of course, we won't tell anyone! Pinky swear!" Yuta holds out his little finger and Taeyong coos before linking his. Yuta looks very excited and expectant, so Taeyong begrudgingly starts his to tell today's story and how he ended up arguing with his mom._

_"Pfft. What? You ran away from home just because your mom said you didn't have the guts to be an astronaut?" Jaehyun's lips are quivering from holding in a laugh, but that just makes Taeyong even more annoyed._

_"She's my mother, and I'm ten, isn't she supposed to be supportive of his son?!" Taeyong complains loudly._

_"I think she's just joking around with you. After all, she knows well how sensitive you can be, and it's really entertaining to piss you off you know?" Jaehyun snorts into his hand, and Taeyong stands up from his seat to strangle him when he feels a little hand pulling at his clothes._

_Yuta smiles at him, showing off his two missing teeth. "Yongie will be an amazing astronaut! So don't be sad!" He says cheerfully._

 

 

\---

 

  
Taeyong snaps out of his dream when he feels two hands shaking him. He looks up and crinkles his eyes when he faces the blinding light. Jaehyun's handsome features come into his view to look down on him.

He looks half happy and half scared as he smiles unsurely at him.

"Yuta's awake."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guyss it's been awhile, sorry for not updating this for so long :( before i forget, my stories are never beta-ed so i'm sorry if there are mistakes :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heart-to-heart.

The first thing Jaehyun notices about Yuta is how he's unusually small. It's maybe only his imagination, no, he's sure it's only his imagination. But the newly discovered fact that Yuta is an omega does that to his unprepared brain.

He has always been the smallest out of the three of them, and not only because of the age gap. But Yuta's presence was always so big whenever he's around them, so he never noticed how significant the difference was. He looks so out of place, sitting against the headboard like a legitimately ill person because the Yuta inside his mind would never get sick. In his head, Yuta should always be the happy and sassy Yuta, a Yuta who doesn't tell lies.

Yuta's head turns towards their direction with a sheepish look that Jaehyun witnesses whenever Yuta's caught stealing another one of Taeyong's deluxe chocolate collection when they're working. Ten is still holding Yuta's hand when he stands up to give them some space. When the door closes signaling Ten's absence, Yuta looks at them confused.

"You guys seem like you're constipated. Did I say something weird when I'm unconscious?" Yuta tilts his head to the side, and Jaehyun cringes when his bangs move away from his forehead to show the stitches that are covering up his wounds. He can smell the frustration and the agitation coming from Taeyong, and Jaehyun knows Yuta notices it too because he looks alarmed before masking his emotion with an unknowing smile again.

"Don't just stand there, I got twenty-five stitches on scarring my beautiful forehead. You, as my friends, should console me or something." Yuta pats the space next to him on the large bed, and Taeyong doesn't hesitate even a second to throw his body into it. Jaehyun still stands there, fists clenching to control his need to be close to the omega, struggling to keep his instincts at bay.

He opts to take a seat on Ten's previous one, indirectly making Taeyong do all the serious talk.

"What do you remember?" He hears Taeyong ask quietly as he hands Yuta a cup of water to drink. His voice is still croaky.

"Well, it's really hazy. Ten told me that I was on the lift and some kind of an accident happened, and I bumped my head pretty hard on the floor. Did I have a heart attack and faint or something? It's so stupid to just fall to the ground like that."

"You don't remember anything before that?" Taeyong asks, and Yuta sounds a little bit annoyed when he answers. "No, I don't Taeyong I said it's hazy. Are we playing 101 questions now?"

"So you don't remember about our fight?"

"What? Is it about the chocolate I stole? Oh my God, Taeyong, it's just one piece of it I swear I can pay you back-" Yuta doesn't get to finish his words as Taeyong grabs him by the waist and buries his nose on the column where his neck and shoulder meet, making Jaehyun let go of his hand completely.

"...Taeyong? Are you crying? What's happening? You're scaring me here," Yuta tries to keep his voice calm, but the way his body shivers a bit shows otherwise. Taeyong is and has always been, their rock. Seeing their leader like that probably scares the omega a bit. The ugly part of Jaehyun says Yuta deserves it.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Taeyong grabs Yuta's a bit swollen cheeks inside his hands, searching for his eyes.

"What are you talking about you're not making any sense-"

His patience thrown out of the window, Jaehyun stands up from his seat and grabs Yuta's shoulders forcefully. He doesn't want to acknowledge Taeyong's warning growl from beside him, no, this time he's not going to listen.

"You're an omega. Say it; I want to hear it coming from your mouth!" Yuta's eyes widen in fear at Jaehyun's sudden outburst, and Taeyong's hand shot up to push his chest away from Yuta, but he uses his strength for once on Taeyong to hold his stance.

All of his previous composure gone with the wind.

"H-How did you know? Oh my God, you're-not-supposed-to-find-out-now-" He rushes out in quick breaths, his heartbeat monitor going frenzy as the nurses come shuffling in with the female doctor coming right behind them.

"I need all of you to get out of the room right now," the beta says, gesturing to the door. Both Taeyong and Jaehyun growl at her, but she doesn't even blink.

"Growl all you want, but he's still my patient. You're both competent doctors, but this is my field. So. Get. Out."

 

 

  
\---

 

 

  
"What the hell was that?!" Taeyong grabs Jaehyun by his collar, ignoring the nurses' gasps.

Jaehyun pulls away from his grasp with a growl. "You're going to feel guilty about this? Seriously? He's been lying to us since the day he presented! I don't get how easy it is for you to accept it!"

"This is Yuta we're talking about Jaehyun-ah, not some stranger! He had a good reason to do it, I'm sure," Taeyong is still angry, but he's not going to get suspended for fighting with his boyfriend, who's also a doctor.

"And what if he didn't? What are you going to do if the only reason he lied to us because he didn't trust us enough, hm? Are you still going to beg for forgiveness?"

Taeyong clenches his fists together, resisting the urge to punch Jaehyun's face to get his senses together. "Get the fuck out of here. Go home. You're not coming back here until you get your head straight." Taeyong throws him the keys and points towards the exit. Jaehyun gives him a middle finger before slamming the door shut.

Taeyong ruffles his head in frustration, Jaehyun's actions are entirely uncalled for, and now because of him, it looks like they won't be meeting Yuta anytime soon. He looks around the room and gives the nurses an apologetic smile. They blush and return to their previous jobs behind the counter.

Ten is nowhere to be seen; he's probably gone home. Speaking about Ten, maybe he should call Johnny and keep him updated, but shrugs the thought off. He's not going to disturb his friend; he's not close to Yuta anyway.

He notices Hansol staring at him when he turns his back around, but the other alpha immediately peels away his gaze the moment Taeyong set his eyes on him. Taeyong sighs and sits on Hansol's right side, opting to make some space between them by leaving one seat empty.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"You could say that. Yuta suddenly freaked out when Jaehyun confronted him, and I honestly couldn't blame both of them," Taeyong slumps his body to the wall, "all of this information is too much for both of us to handle, but Jaehyun could've been more mature about that. But I guess I'm no better since I didn't stop him enough from jumping on Yuta like that."

"A part of me also wants an explanation, but I wish it could be more civil." Taeyong doesn't know why he's suddenly spilling his thoughts on a stranger alpha, Yuta's so-called _acquaintance_. He just needs someone to share his opinions, but Jaehyun is being an asshole and Yuta is obviously not a choice.

"Make that the two of us," Hansol pats his shoulder comfortingly and Taeyong realizes he's probably not as a prick as he imagined him to be.

"What do you mean?"

Hansol looks at him with his huge eyes, mouth forming a thin line as if he's thinking something hard.

"I thought I was the only one who knew, you know, about Yuta being an omega," Hansol smiles bitterly, "but turns out I'm not the only one who did. The sick part of me was happy because even if I couldn't have Yuta all for myself, I still had the one thing that others didn't. His identity."

"The sick part of me wants him to keep his secret forever, but thankfully I'm sane enough to tell him to admit the truth, as much as that annoyed him."

They look at each other for a few moments before letting out a dry chuckle. "We're both bastards, aren't we?" Hansol nods his head, and they stay silent for the rest of the night.

 

 

  
\---

 

 

  
It's 4 a.m. when they finally allow them to enter Yuta's room again and Taeyong thought it's only right to give Hansol his turn. There are no calls or messages from Jaehyun and to be honest, Taeyong is still not ready to speak with him either. His anger is slowly dissipating, but he wouldn't find the right words to say to him.

He called his mom and demanded to know whether she knew Yuta's an omega. She yelled at him for being an ignorant child, ordered him to get on his knees to beg for Yuta's forgiveness and cried with him when he broke down. He sent a message to Johnny to notify him and didn't say anything to Jaehyun's mom. Taeyong's mom would've told her; he's not ready to repeat the news over and over again, it reminds him how he failed as an alpha.

How he couldn't gain Yuta's trust.

No more than fifteen minutes Hansol's already exiting the room, closing the heavy door gently, mindful to not make any disturbing noise. He meets Taeyong's gaze with a small smile.

"Unlike you doctors, I sweat and smell. Going to go home and shower or something," Hansol scratches his head. Taeyong nods his head, and he's about to go inside the room when Hansol's large hand pats him on the shoulder.

"Take care of him, yeah? He's special," Hansol looks at him solemnly, his eyes showing that he fuck Taeyong up if he messes with Yuta again. As if Taeyong needs another reminder.

But he appreciates Hansol's sentiment, and so he gives him a thumbs up.

When Hansol opens the door, Taeyong is pretty much convinced that they won't see him around in a while.

 

 

  
\---

 

 

  
Yuta's eyes are red and puffy when he comes in, and Taeyong's protective instinct kicks in. He rushes to his side, unsure whether it's all right to touch him, but Yuta shows no signs of protesting so he goes back to his previous spot beside the newly identified omega.

Taeyong hands Yuta a small cup of water, but the latter holds out his hand, refusing it. They stay silent for a long time, at least that's what Taeyong feels, sitting there dumbly not really against each other, a string of space between them.

"...Did you two... fight? Because of me?" Yuta's lips are trembling when he asks that and Taeyong immediately hugs him to his chest.

"Just a small argument, sweetheart. Never because of you," he lies through his teeth, and Taeyong's not a good liar; Yuta can definitely see through him.

The younger doesn't hug him back nor push him away, but Taeyong thinks it's a good start.

"Mom was so worried, you know? She demanded you to call her later when you're ready." Hearing this, Yuta shakes like a leaf inside his embrace and Taeyong soothes him by rocking them side to side. When they were kids, it was considered a tradition to have a sleepover on the weekends. Yuta used to get this monster dreams, and he would cry until Taeyong wakes up and calms him down like this until he fell asleep. Taeyong's eyes water a bit when he remembers the memory. It will be such an ideal situation if they could just go back to being kids forever, no lies, no secrets, just Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Yuta.

"This is all my fault; I'm so sorry Taeyong, this is all my fault, I'm sorry I keep messing everything up for other people-"

Taeyong pushes him back to look him in the eyes and speaks sternly, "You never messed up anybody's life, you hear me?"

"My parents died because of me-"

"It was an accident-"

"Y-You two fought because of me. Now I'm a burden even to your mother. He's right; I should never have presented in the first place-"

"He? Who are you talking about, darling?"

But Yuta just shakes his head and buries his wet face on Taeyong's neck, sobbing feverishly. His heart rate monitor is going frenzy again, and Taeyong will be damned if he lets that beta doctor take him away from Yuta for the second time.

"Ssh, ssh, I promise I'm not angry at you," 'just really damn confused, "calm down, okay? No one's going to say anything bad to you when I'm here, I promise," Taeyong rubs Yuta's back with his warm hand, hoping that his alpha scent can calm the omega. The omega. It still sounds foreign to him.

He suddenly smells something metallic, something like... Blood?

"Stop! Stop scratching yourself," Taeyong says, accidentally using his alpha voice on Yuta, making him whimper and tilt his head in submission, hands immediately halting.

He pushes up Yuta's hospital gown and growls when he sees the blood coming out from the fresh wounds made by Yuta's sharp nails. Certain omegas usually abused ones, have tendencies to punish themselves when they think they did something wrong. Taeyong feels wretched.

There are a few fading scars on both of his thighs, showing that it's not the first time he did this. He stands up and opens the drawer to grab an antiseptic and some gauzes. The tissues he used to wipe Yuta's blood off are so red it makes him sick, even though he encounters fouler things in his field of work.

"This might sting a bit," Taeyong says as he pours the liquid onto Yuta's opened wound. Yuta takes a sharp intake of breath while holding on Taeyong's sleeve, and flinches a bit when the alpha wraps the gauze around his thigh.

He gently places Yuta's leg back down, rubbing soothing circles on it. "Sleep?" Taeyong uses his free hand to wipe the tears from Yuta's cheeks. His alpha command is still evidently making Yuta distracted, judging from his glassy and unfocused chocolate orbs.

He's asleep within thirty seconds.

 

 

  
\---

 

 

  
"What happened to him?" Jaehyun asks when he enters the room, wearing his casual shirt. Figures that Johnny wouldn't let him work.

"He scratched his thighs and cried himself to sleep," Taeyong answers without looking away from Yuta's tired face.

He hears Jaehyun hum as an answer.

The other alpha takes a step towards the direction of Yuta's bed, but Taeyong stops him with a glare. "I'm not going to let you anywhere near him until you promise me you won't freak out on him like that again."

Jaehyun sighs in resignation. "I don't know what came over me, I'm sorry. I was just so upset that we had to found out this way. Still am. I give you my permission to punch me if I go over the line again."

"Well, make sure it won't happen."

"I will," Jaehyun leans into him to give him a soft peck on the lips.

"He mentioned something that made me uneasy," Taeyong informs him as soon as Jaehyun pulls another chair to sit beside him. He gestures him to go on.

"I'm not sure if I heard it right, but I think someone made him or probably made him think that he should take the suppressants." Jaehyun frowns at this new information.

"Did he say anything more?"

"He's going to have another panic attack if I push him to answer, Jaehyun-ah," Taeyong says, looking at his boyfriend with sad eyes, "the top priority now is get him better, we'll deal with the questions and answers when he's ready. Okay?"

"No. He's not ever going to be ready to explain us, Taeyong-ah! Can't you see? He spent the last God knows how many years hiding his secondary gender right under our nose!" He whisper-shouts, getting agitated again, "If you say someone influenced him to do it, I say let's find the guy and make him pay."

"Don't make me punch you," Taeyong's threat is empty but Jaehyun gets it when he sits back down.

"We'll take this nice and slow, and we're going to wait until Yuta's ready. Okay?"

Jaehyun grumbles under his breath but nods his head nonetheless.

They're going to start over, and this time they're going to do it right.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't update this fic for almost a month and I apologize for that :(( This chapter is kinda hard for me to write? I'm not good at this -_-
> 
> Please leave your thoughts below, I would really like it to listen to your opinions and feedbacks because I feel like these days I need it a lot. 
> 
> Thanks for the support you've given me in this or my other stories, it really makes my day every single time <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What you think, you become.

"Hello, Mr. Nakamoto. I'm Dr. Kim, I'm in charge of you for the time being," the female beta greets him warmly with a smile.

"Hi," Yuta says unsurely, "I hope you're planning to discharge me soon? No offense but the hospital food sucks," he complains. Dr. Kim stifles a laugh, and Yuta smiles a bit. Taeyong kept pestering him, and he barely made him get out of the room by saying he had to go to work too. And Jaehyun. Jaehyun was not really talking to him. So having a nice and slow conversation with someone is a good start.

"I'll try my best," she says shortly, switching to professional mode. So much for making a real conversation. "How long have you been taking the suppressants?"

Okay, he didn't see that coming so suddenly. "Uh, probably a few months after I presented, I don't really remember."

"When did you present?"

"I was nineteen. A late bloomer," she takes note of everything and Yuta wonders whether she'll inform Taeyong about all of it. The thought makes him a little bit sick in the stomach, suddenly realizing how long that he's been lying to cover himself.

"Did someone force you to take them?" Yuta gulps. "N-No. It's my own decision. I'm not comfortable with my secondary gender."

Dr. Kim looks at him like she knows he's not telling the truth, but she doesn't push him.

"Have you been taking the same suppressants for the past few years?"

"Yes."

She hums and scribbles down something on her clipboard. "Consider yourself lucky. This one is not strong enough to mess with your reproductive system. You still get into heat, right?" Yuta nods his head as an answer. He's not looking forward to presenting her the details of his heat.

"A few hormone injections are recommended. Mefylthanin is not dangerous, but taking it for too long might have some side effects. The injections are to relieve you of those side effects," she explains and continues with a smaller voice, "you're okay with that, right?"

Yuta gives her a tight-lipped smile. He's not okay.

She lets out a sigh. "I asked my colleague to speak with you. He's a psychiatrist, and he has dealt with your cases a lot of times before. Of course you don't have to meet him, but you look like you need help. And that's our job. Helping people."

 

 

  
\---

 

 

  
Yuta doesn't mention his encounter with Dr. Kim when Taeyong comes back from his shift, still clad in his hospital scrubs. "How are you?" Taeyong gives him a smile as he pulls out a chair to sit down in his usual spot.

"Almost puked when they gave me pumpkin porridge, but other than that, I'm fine. How was yours?"

Taeyong sighs and massages his temples. "Teenagers these days. My patient's ex-girlfriend burned his dick out of jealousy so I need to spend almost four hours on him only. Nobody wanted to help, not even the usually kind Sicheng so I needed to deal with him myself," he cringes when he remembers that he needed to put his hands (albeit gloved) on a kid's dick. Yuta cackles but instantly regrets it when his head throbs in protest. "I still can't believe that you're only twenty-nine and is already the prominent figure in the hospital. What can they do without Lee Taeyong?"

The alpha bashfully smiles at the compliment with that look which never fails to make Yuta's heart skip a beat. "I'm not forcing you to tell me anything, but we can start little by little, right?" Taeyong says carefully, clearly not wanting to upset him.

Yuta clenches his fists together inside the blanket where he knows Taeyong won't be able to see. "Of course. But can we wait until Jaehyun is with us? I don't like repeating myself."

_You're a bad omega, speaking to an alpha like that._

"However you want it, sweetheart."

Taeyong doesn't let his hold on him slip away even as he drifts off to a dreamless sleep.

 

 

\---

 

 

  
When he wakes up again, Taeyong is gone and there's a different alpha scent. Jaehyun.

Yuta jumps a bit because Jaehyun is standing motionlessly by the door and doesn't open his mouth to say anything. "How long have you been standing there?" He grasps his clothed chest. The medicine he's been taking is really making him drowsy and he feels kinda high, but the dark circles under Jaehyun's eyes are definitely not a hallucination.

"A while," and Yuta knows because the smell of his scent neutralizer is gone, which means Jaehyun's shift probably ended two or even three hours ago. When they're dealing with patients, they need to cover their scents not to trigger anything.

Maybe because he missed Jaehyun a lot and didn't have the chance to speak to him privately that Yuta holds up both of his arms, wanting to be held. There's something about Jaehyun's expression that signals he's still quite angry, but he moves away from his original spot and hugs Yuta anyway.

"I'm still upset, you know. But I feel like I need a hug too."

Yuta closes his eyes to stop the tears from spilling. "I know. I'm sorry."

He pulls away first and gestures to the chair beside him. "Stay close?"

Jaehyun hums, but he wraps an arm around the back of Yuta's knees instead, the other behind his back, and moves him away gently so he's lying on the right side of the bed. Jaehyun still has his arm around his shoulders when he lies beside him, staring up at the pristine white of the room's ceiling.

Yuta looks at him in surprise but he doesn't say anything because truthfully, Jaehyun being close with him like this really warms up his cold heart.

"I guess I should apologize too. For, you know, going crazy on you like that," Jaehyun's thumb strokes his shoulder blade, "but I'm not going to apologize for being upset. You understand that, right?" Trust Jaehyun to be straightforward.

"'Course I do." _You have every right to be angry with me because I'm such a fucking liar._ "I would be mad at myself too if I were in your position."

"Not sure how that works but, guess I can agree with you. By the way, wanna grab some ice cream? I can sneak you out to the cafeteria. Just don't tell Taeyong or else he'll flip and give me a silent treatment for a week. You look like you could skip some pumpkin porridge."

Another reason why Yuta loves Jaehyun.

 

 

  
\---

 

 

  
The ice cream they serve is good enough, considering the fact that this is a hospital where all the food are supposed to be tasteless.

"Holy shit, they even have bubble gum! I've never eaten this since I graduated high school," Yuta exclaims gleefully and it must be a peculiar sight. A doctor and a patient (who's still dragging his IV with a bandage that covers up half of his face) standing in front of a colorful ice cream display.

"You can maybe keep your voice down; I don't want that brat Sicheng to rat out on me. Again," Jaehyun sends a glare to the young intern who has been observing them from afar, immediately lowering his head when Yuta turns his head to look too.

"Trust me that guy is better off being a spy. Ten called me yesterday trying to bite my head off with his screams for shouting at you. Sicheng is the only one I can think of when Ten told me someone reported it to him," Jaehyun continues to give the younger boy a dirty stare as he pays for the ice cream. "You should be careful around him, Taeyong probably bribed him to spy on you too."

But Yuta can't feel anything but fondness when looking at the cute boy's gestures. He's quite clumsy, dropping his clipboard all over the nurses' desk, making them turn around in surprise. He continues to bow down his head apologetically, and Yuta feels a surge of protectiveness when one of the nurses turn her head around to glare at the poor boy. Leaving his spot beside Jaehyun, he ignores the older's calls as he approaches the still sheepish adorable boy.

"Hi there, are you in the mood for some ice cream?"

 

 

 

\---

 

 

 

"Oh, so you're not fully working here yet?" Yuta asks, his words muffled by the spoon inside his mouth.

"No," Sicheng gulps, avoiding Jaehyun's pointed stare, "I just got lucky that was given special permission by my professor to watch how things work here. So I'm still studying part time? But honestly, I'm just working as an assistant or some sort."

"A _spying_  assistant, you mean," Jaehyun mumbles under his breath, and Yuta kicks his leg from under the table.

"Wow, that's amazing! You looked too young to be working by old geezers, so I had my doubts," Yuta ignores Jaehyun's offended gasp of _excuse me I'm literally only a few years older than you._

It's quite nice that Yuta can at least pretend they're back to their usual bantering selves. He's glad Jaehyun treats him normally, unlike Taeyong who always looks like he's stepping on eggshells when talking with him, like a bunch of words can hurt him. He has an issue, but he's going to deal with it himself, he's not going to drag Jaehyun or Taeyong anymore further down. It's enough.

"I bet Lee Taeyong bribed you with ice cream too, didn't he?" Jaehyun eyes the mountain of empty cups of ice cream, it's basically Sicheng's thirteenth (or maybe fourteenth) cup. At first the younger refused, but Yuta insisted even though it's _Jaehyun's_ money. He got carried away when he got a taste of the chocolate flavor and proceeded to eat all the remaining ones. If he's going to order another one, Jaehyun has to pretend that he has a patient to attend to or else he's going to be broke.

Sicheng nods his head solemnly, ashamed that a mere ice cream can make him mentally weak, giving in to any temptation.

"What about Ten?"

Sicheng's body flinches at the mention of the Thai's name, eyes widening in fear. "H-He didn't give me anything? He's just so- Scary, I guess," Sicheng shivers when he remembers Dr. Seo's omega attempts to squeeze information out of him with an evil smile.

"Yeah, he's sometimes quite scary when he wants to be, but he's a good guy, trust me. Just give him a few gift cards and you'll get him to listen to whatever you say," Yuta says nonchalantly.

Sicheng pouts. "But I don't have any gift cards..."

Oh, the sheer adorableness of this boy.

 

 

 

\---

 

 

 

Jaehyun accompanies him back to his room with a hand protectively secured around his waist. Yuta wishes that Jaehyun can treat forever like this. But no chance.

"You know my ears are open whenever you need to talk, right?" Jaehyun carefully covers Yuta with the blanket. It's quite chilly, his room being left out for an ice cream session without no living beings inside. "Even if you think it's unimportant, just tell Taeyong or me. All of this started when you-" Jaehyun stops himself, remembering Taeyong's words. "When _we_ didn't communicate a lot. We need to compromise. Taeyong and I are going to spend more time with you. In return, you need to be open with us, okay?" Jaehyun chooses the words carefully, not really knowing how to deal with a distraught omega.

"But-" _I don't want to be a burden to you._

"No buts. Now sleep and recover soon. You're going to have a hellish week once you come back, you know you skipped school for almost four days, right?" Jaehyun teases and kisses his forehead. He turns off the lights and whispers, "See you soon."

Leaving Yuta alone with his own destructive thoughts. 

He grabs the scraped paper that Dr. Kim gave to him earlier. He messed up and now he's going to clean it up himself. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed to write this chapter after all of those emotional roller coasters when writing the three last chapters. -_- So this is kinda like a filler? I tried to write the chapter realistically, but I dunno x
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading my long note, and before I forget, all of my works are never beta-ed and I'm not an English speaker, so if you spot a mistake, bear with me plz, and I'll really appreciate it when u point it out <3 Thanks for reading, I hope u continue to enjoy <3


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